Each of Two: The Light
by LaNay Deann
Summary: Harry must be the one to defeat Voldemort. Things aren't as they seem when startling events & new faces appear posessing secrets to not only Voldemort's weakness, but to Harry's future. His fate grows foggier while his choices are harder. More in profile


**Prologue: **From Yesterday

The first thing that Harry Potter noticed as his feet collided sharply with the pavement of Charring Cross Road was that the rain had stopped.

With his heart pounding and body aching he slowly straightened, struggling for several seconds to catch his breath. The street looked no different than Harry thought it ought to, though he hadn't expected there to be any Muggles out at such a late hour. They stood only a few feet from where Harry had apparated, at the backdoor of a pub, smoking cigarettes and drinking out of bottles covered in brown paper bags. They stared at him, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he'd materialized from nowhere, but were rather focused and offended when they saw that he was soaking wet, and that his clothes were both badly torn and blood stained. Harry ignored their Uncle Vernon-ish glares as he turned, ran across the street and through the door of the Leaky Cauldron.

The pub was busier than Harry had ever seen it, making it harder for him to maneuver through the crowd unnoticed. He crossed the room frantically searching peoples' faces, ignoring the sharp pain in his abdomen and head, and the deafening chatter of the many conversations he passed. He felt himself start to give way to the panic he felt building in his gut, but then stopped abruptly when he spotted a man sitting alone at the bar, staring blankly into his nearly empty glass of firewhisky. Relief washed over Harry as he pushed his way back through the crowd.

"Excuse me…Regulus?" he asked as he steadied himself against the barstool next to the man, gasping painfully for air.

The man turned to Harry and gazed at him curiously from beneath his unruly black hair, which did very little to accentuate his handsome features.

"Eh?" he asked.

"Regulus Black?" Harry asked with uncertainty.

The man squinted at him; his eyes traveled from Harry's face to his rain soaked hair, and then to his clothes.

"Is it raining?" he asked.

"No. I've just Apparated," Harry said growing a little impatient.

"Oh."

"Well…"

"Well what?" the man asked.

Harry sighed heavily, and rolled his eyes.

"You're Regulus Black," he said, "Aren't you?"

"What's the fuss about anyway?"

"I was told he'd be here," Harry said. "So either tell me you're him, or tell me you're not. I haven't got all n—"

"Mate, I fear I have some dreadful news to tell you," the man interjected.

He lifted his glass and finished the rest of his drink. "Regulus Black is dead."

Harry stared at him.

The man stared back, then stuck his hand inside his cloak and pulled out a long, brown cigarette. He held it out to Harry.

Harry shook his head; the man shrugged and slid it in between his lips. He lit the cigarette with the tip of his wand and inhaled deeply. He glanced back at Harry and then stuck his free hand out.

"Stubby Boardman," he said.

Harry blinked.

"What?"

"That's my name."

The name buzzed with familiarity in Harry's ears as Tom—the pub keeper—approached them from behind the bar; having clearly noted that Stubby's drink was now empty.

"Haven't got a sickle left, I'm afraid," Stubby said.

He looked at Harry, smiling wolfishly.

Catching on quickly, Harry glanced at Tom.

"Two firewhiskies, please," he said.

Stubby took a long drag from his cigarette and motioned to the barstool beside his as Tom returned with their drinks. Harry sat down.

"Cheers," Stubby said, taking his glass quickly, lifting it to his lips.

Harry cleared his throat and held his glass up as if to make a toast. Stubby followed suit, though he looked extremely disappointed for being made to wait.

"What're we drinking to then?" he asked.

Harry thought for a minute.

"To secrets," he said.

"Secrets?"

"Yeah. Regulus Black was an expert on secrets."

Stubby smiled again, and then drained the entirety of his glass with one, hurried swallow.

"Was he?" he asked nonchalantly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Harry took a large gulp from his own glass, but coughed as it burned the back of his throat.

"A Death Eater too, or at least that's the rumor," Stubby continued.

"He was," Harry said as he finished his drink, fighting hard against another fit of coughing. "Though I'm convinced he never really wanted to be one."

"How do you figure that?" Stubby asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, and then gritted his teeth at a painful twinge in his chest. He motioned at Tom for another round. When his drink arrived, Stubby didn't wait to see if Harry was going to make another toast. He quickly poured the amber liquid down his throat.

"Well, he was never loyal enough to tell Voldemort that he knew about his Horcruxes," Harry said, giving Stubby no time to swallow.

As Harry expected, firewhisky gushed from Stubby's mouth and he nearly fell from his barstool, dropping his cigarette onto the floor.

He stared at Harry no longer smiling, and pushed several strands of hair from his face as he leaned in toward Harry.

"You're either very brave or very stupid to say his name so openly," he said softly. "How do _you_ know about the Dark Lord's…you-know-what's? Not even his most trusted servants are privileged to that information."

"I know a lot of things," Harry said simply, swallowing his drink.

"Really? Like what?" Stubby asked sounding almost defensive.

"Like the other secret he was keeping from Voldemort."

Stubby flinched, but waited desperately for him to continue.

Harry leaned in.

"The one involving Diana Cox," he said lowering his voice.

Stubby straightened in his seat, looking as though he'd been half expecting Harry to say that exact thing.

Tom approached them once more, but neither looked away.

"Two more, Tom," Stubby said.

"Thought you'd run out of money," Tom said mockingly.

Stubby waved him off impatiently and eyed Harry carefully, paying more particular attention to Harry's features than he had done before.

Harry waited for the inevitable recognition, and was unsurprised to see Stubby's brow rise in suspicion a moment later.

"James Potter?"

Harry shook his head.

"He's dead too actually. I'm his son."

Stubby stared at him blankly as Tom returned once more with another round of drinks. This time however, Stubby made no fervent move for his glass.

"Impossible. I—"

He had no time to finish. It suddenly seemed as though time had stopped, and the room fell silent. Tom stood frozen on the other side of the bar, staring frightened toward the entrance Harry had come in. He and Stubby turned to see two figures standing in the doorway, wearing matching black cloaks.

The shorter of the two stepped forward and lowered his hood. The crowd stared, and some of them gasped in surprise as a very mangled man stepped into the firelight. He had only one foot and was missing several fingers on each hand, as well as his right ear. But possibly the most disturbing thing about him was that he had two glass eyes, neither which matched the other. Harry fought to look away with repulsion as the man limped into the center of the pub. The second figure followed him, doing their level best to keep a safe distance, and did not lower their hood.

"Anyone up for a round of Exploding Snap?" the man said loudly, with a harsh, sarcastic Irish accent.

The room erupted with noise as everyone quickly returned to their conversations and drinks. It was as if they were afraid that if they paid the Irishman any more attention he might approach one of them.

"Aye, that's what I thought," the Irishman growled as he approached a table near the staircase.

Harry hadn't noticed it before, along with any of the people who sat around it, as they were doing so in almost complete darkness. They were all dressed in the same black robes as the two men, and they were the only ones in the pub that had not returned to their drinks, all of which sat untouched in the center of the table.

Stubby quickly pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head and turned away.

"Death Eaters," he muttered. "Look, I don't know who you really are or how you—"

Harry quickly pulled a watch from his pocket and held it up. Stubby looked at it and immediately fell silent.

"It's _not_ impossible," Harry said. "I need your help…and I don't have a lot of time."

o0o

Severus felt his feet touch the ground, and before the rest of him had appeared, he peeled off in a full run toward the Leaky Cauldron. His breath burned deeply in his chest as he tore through the pub, ignoring the baffled looks by those he nearly pushed down as he made his way toward the large wooden staircase on the back wall. He thundered up the stairs, but stopped at the landing and gazed down the darkened corridor. He stood doubled over, breathing heavily and feeling ill prepared for what awaited him.

Severus knew that he was by no means the heroic type, and considered turning back to run away. But the very idea that he had been asked to the rescue, that after everything he was still needed; it was enough to keep him moving to the end of the hall way.

Severus stepped forward into the dark and then nearly fell to the ground, having suddenly tripped over something…or rather someone. For whomever he'd just trodden over, had just swore loudly.

Severus stopped immediately and spun around, lighting the tip of his wand, aiming in the direction he'd heard the voice.

Severus looked all around him, down the empty hallway. He slowly reached his hand out in the darkness, but grabbed at nothing.

He stood perfectly still for another second, his eyes darting back and fourth, looking for the slightest flicker of movement. But everything remained perfectly still, and the only noises he could hear now came from the pub below. Severus stuffed his hand back into the depths of his robes and moved quickly from the landing, practically running to the very last room at the end of the hall.

Severus lifted his hand to knock; his fist fell against the door with an oddly sincere politeness.

"Diana?"

He felt his breath catch in the back of this throat as he waited. He wasn't sure how Diana would be toward him; they hadn't exactly parted company in the best way…not that they ever did. Severus had only been vaguely aware of what he was getting into when he'd gotten involved with a gypsy.

And yet, he'd never been able to bring himself to regret the decision.

The door opened slowly and Severus fumbled once more for his wand, lifting its illuminated tip to get a better look as a head emerged from inside the room.

His mouth fell open, as to his horror, the handsome features of none other than Regulus Black, could be seen in the bright wand light.

"Snape," Regulus said, smiling nervously.

Snape stared at him, his cheeks flushing hot and scarlet red.

"Black," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "What in the bloody hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Waiting for you," Regulus said.

"You?"

"Yeah," Regulus replied looking at him sheepishly, "and it's about time you turned up. I—"

Severus moved so quickly that all Regulus saw was a blur, as Severus nearly broke the door down, taking hold of Regulus by the collar, and pushed him against the doorframe, lifting him into the air.

"—was beginning to think you weren't coming," Regulus gasped.

"Where is she?" Severus demanded.

"Keep your voice down," Regulus said. "Might get a bit awkward if someone hears you."

"Where is Diana?" Severus snarled, tightening his grasp.

"The forest."

"No," Severus said. "Everyone's left the forest on the Dark Lord's orders."

"Well…then clearly not _everyone_ followed his orders," Regulus said.

Severus slammed him into the doorframe.

"Tell me!" he shouted.

"She went back for her son," Regulus choked. "She's expecting you, so we've got to hurry."

Severus blinked, his anger masked momentarily by confusion.

"Why would she be expecting me?"

Regulus seemed hesitant to answer.

"I may have sent her a message, telling her to wait in the clearing," he said. "And I may have signed it…with your name."

Severus felt his hands begin to tremble, mixed with rage and fear.

"How could you--" he stopped himself. "Wait…what are you on about anyway?" he asked. "How do you know I've anything to do with Diana?"

"You don't have to pretend with me, Snape," Regulus said gruffly from lack of oxygen. "I know what you two get up to and how—"

Severus quickly lifted him higher into the air using one hand while the other pointed his wand directly at Regulus's neck.

"How what, Black? I dare you to say another word about it!" he growled.

Regulus squinted into the blinding light of Snape's wand and held up his hands in defense.

"Apologies," he said hurriedly. "I just meant—"

"Meant what?" Severus asked, pushing him once more against the doorframe.

"Nothing! I meant nothing. Honestly, I just know how you must feel about all this."

"Do you?" Severus seethed. "Well I imagine then you must know how I feel receiving word from Diana that she was in trouble, and that she needed my help. Only here I am, to discover that it was you! You, who wouldn't possibly take into consideration of what's happening tonight! Or know that I am supposed to be stationed elsewhere and that my absence will only create more doubt as to my loyalties! No, you must consider this a joke! I suppose you'll get a big laugh out of it later! Isn't it funny, Severus Snape thinks someone might actually love him!"

Regulus's eyes flickered away from Severus for a brief moment; it was as if he were looking to someone for help. But when Severus turned to look, he only saw a darkened hallway.

Regulus met his eye again, paralyzed by the anger in Severus's voice, which seemed to grow louder and more hateful with each word.

"Snape, please!" Regulus begged. "It's not like that at all! If you'd just put me down, I can explain everything."

"I'm listening," Severus hissed, tightening his grasp.

"Right," Regulus choked. "Explain first, then breathe."

Severus didn't falter.

"Diana _is _in trouble, or rather she will be very soon! If you haven't already noticed the Dark Lord has information, information he shouldn't! I need your help, but I knew that if you thought _I'd_ sent you a message to meet me, that you'd ignore it. Where as by sending it as if it were from Diana…well here you are."

Severus stared at Regulus for an eternity, feeling humiliated.

"You're a bastard," he said, letting go of Regulus, who fell and stumbled back against the wall.

Severus turned; he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so defeated.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," Regulus said taking in large, full gasps of air. "I know you must be disappointed."

"I'm not," Severus said defensively.

"Right," Regulus laughed, which made him cough. "That's why you're so happy to see me."

Severus did not respond. He kept his back to Regulus, his head bent toward his chest. He didn't want Regulus to see the tear that had somehow--against his will--managed to roll down his cheek, and fall from the tip of his hooked nose.

"She needs you now more than ever, Snape," Regulus said after a moment.

"And what am I to do about it?" Severus asked. "The Dark Lord has complete control over the situation with Diana, and besides…" his voice trailed off as he hesitated, reluctant to trust Regulus. "I've already tried to make her leave, but she wants nothing to do with me."

"Snape, she wants to leave with you this time. You've got to believe me," Regulus said getting to his feet.

"Oh really?" Severus said turning to face him. "And why should I? What's changed?"

Regulus sighed.

"Her secret has been betrayed to the Dark Lord," he said.

Severus felt his eyes grow to the size of bludgers and what little color he had, drained from his face.

"W—what…what secret?" he stammered.

"I've been suspicious for months now that someone close to her was feeding the Dark Lord information, and I finally discovered who it was."

"Who?" Severus gulped.

"Victor Lockhart."

Severus was so ready to be angry that as he opened his mouth to respond, he quickly stopped himself, having not expected to hear that particular name, and was now more confused than ever.

"But…"

"Don't you find it strange that the Dark Lord took such an interest in Diana in the first place?" Regulus asked.

"Well of course, but I just figured it was because—"

Both Severus and Regulus gasped painfully, and their hands flew simultaneously to their arms.

"Bloody Dark Mark!" Regulus groaned, pushing up his sleeve.

The symbol of a snake crawling from the mouth of a skull burned black against Regulus's skin. Severus didn't move to look at his own arm.

"He's either very angry, or very pleased," Regulus laughed darkly.

Severus looked up abruptly.

"I've got to go." he said.

"No wait," Regulus said. "What about Diana?"

"You're right about the Dark Mark. We've been summoned, and I can't give the Dark Lord any reason to suspect me."

"Listen to me, Snape," Regulus said pleadingly. "Victor told him everything."

Severus nodded, ready for the first time in his life to admit that he was truly scared.

"The Dark Lord knows about the Letanori."

And just like that the fear melted away from Severus's face as he stepped backwards, his eyebrows raised.

"The Letanori?" he asked slowly.

Regulus nodded.

"And what, exactly, does Diana have to do with a mythical group of—"

"It's not a myth," Regulus interrupted. "They're real."

"Do you mean to tell me that you've lured me here, risked my life and tried my patience just to show me that not only is Victor Lockhart a lying thief, but also a complete idiot?" Severus muttered through gritted teeth.

"Snape, its true. The Letanori are real," Regulus pleaded. "I've got proof!"

Severus's brow jumped again, this time in skeptical curiosity.

"Really? Then by all means…"

"Well…" Regulus hesitated. "I haven't exactly got it with me at the moment."

Severus rolled his eyes.

"I should have known…"

"Look the point is that Diana _is_ in trouble. You've got to go to her right now!"

The Dark Mark seared them both again.

Severus cringed painfully and then straightened as he turned away from Regulus.

"I've got to go."

"And Diana?" Regulus asked.

"I can't, and you know very well why!"

Regulus took hold of Severus's arm.

"If you really love her then—"

Severus ripped his arm away.

"This isn't about love. This is about truth, loyalty, responsibility…and _I have to go!_"

Without another word Severus turned on the spot and Disapparated.


End file.
